


the long rectification

by stevieraebarnes



Series: rectify [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Abuse, Alchemical Elements, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Confessional Poetry, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, POV Bruce Wayne, Poetry, RHATO (2016) #25
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 19:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15914886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stevieraebarnes/pseuds/stevieraebarnes
Summary: As Batman beats Red Hood to a pulp on the rooftops, Bruce Wayne reflects on his past and future hopes for Jason Todd.





	the long rectification

**Author's Note:**

> Set in issue 25 of Red Hood and the Outlaws.
> 
> For [GavotteAndGigue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GavotteAndGigue/pseuds/GavotteAndGigue) and our batfam alchemy discussions :)

**rectification:** an alchemical term meaning "to set right", implying that the original substance was corrupt or imperfect (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Alchemy by Dennis William Hauck). The process includes life, death, and rebirth.

::

Let me tell you your story and the dream I have for you:  
I remember when our paths first   crossed --  
you         
armored in red  
but  
shrouded in gray;  
a strange red dwarf star    floating  
amongst the asphalt and concrete,  
destined for a stunted life of   
constant churning  
thermonuclear fusion,  
a constant luminous glare. 

Now  
I drag you across the rooftop      your  
red face plate gouged open  
revealing all the things I have left to fix.  
Your deposits of rage  
stain the core  
I see inside of you -- it’s still there: that  
lump of raw material and it’s why I’m  
here      with you  
during the night  
breaking you down so you can be remade.  
Stronger  
_Perfect_

When I was a boy, I took  
salt from the cupboard and I  
ground it and smashed it until the salt lay  
in a helpless heap of  
fine powder.  
I poured the salt into water; not  
to heal, but to  
boil and dissolve,  
and I watched as a     single crystal grew, large and  
beautiful, the impurities left  
behind. 

Do you understand this gift?  
With my hands wrapped around your  
neck  
I am like a torch moving along the length  
of metal,  
I am your zone refining process.  
Every lick of flame  
every hurt I bestow  
I see the flaws     flee  
from the impact  
on your body, revealing a    purity not found in the  
ore.  
Like the salt  
I must break you down and  
dissolve you. 

You have been broken     before,  
once and completely:  
torn to pieces by a  
       madman -- my nemesis; remolded by a woman  
       who lived by powerthirst -- my old lover.   
You were quenched not by water or oil, but by  
blood  
too soon    too fast  
by an apprentice of  limited skill,  
limited patience.  
You came back brittle and cracked. 

Even through the blows you  
speak. The words out of your mouth are  
filled with  slag:  
sulferous and hard edged  
and I shove them away with words of my own --   
      It’s not enough to be made of  
      stars, child, for stars can easily be  
_cast out_ or _forgotten_ or _misidentified_ ;   
      thought to be something more stellar than they truly   are. 

_Listen,_  
if you would just be quiet then  
you would know that each  
beat    of my  
fist     pushes the  
lead  
through your veins  
revealing  
a  
heart of   
_Gold_. 

::

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I used alchemy/blacksmithing/materials science & engineering as a way for Bruce to self-justify his actions against Jason. Do I agree with him? Hell, no. But it was fun to write :) This poem reads like confessional poetry, like Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath.
> 
> So many thanks to the discord group for their endless support of all things Jason Todd and Dick Grayson. And to Nick, who lets me pick at his brain all hours of the day.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment or find me on [tumblr](https://stevieraebarnes.tumblr.com)


End file.
